Nokia and Ericsson Back Airtel’s New Postpaid 5G Slicing Offer

Bharti Airtel has begun expanding its Priority Postpaid offering powered by 5G network slicing technology, as the telecom operator looks to deliver more consistent mobile connectivity in high-traffic locations. 

Postpaid Users to Automatically Receive Priority Benefits 

As per news reports, Shashwat Sharma, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, said all existing Airtel postpaid customers will automatically gain access to the Priority Postpaid service. 

In a message sent to customers, Sharma also encouraged prepaid subscribers to migrate to postpaid plans to access improved network consistency, especially in densely populated areas and crowded markets where congestion can affect service quality. 

“Airtel Priority Postpaid is available on all our postpaid plans. If you are already on postpaid, you will start enjoying the benefit automatically,” Sharma said. 

The company currently has around 29-30 million postpaid users, accounting for nearly 7-8% of its mobility subscriber base while contributing around 12-13% of mobility revenue.  

Any increase in migration from prepaid to postpaid plans could support revenue growth for the telecom operator. 

5G Slicing Enables Dedicated Network Allocation 

The Priority Postpaid service is built on 5G slicing technology, which allows a single physical network to be divided into multiple virtual layers optimised for different performance requirements. 

The technology can allocate dedicated portions of the network for specific use cases, helping improve bandwidth allocation, latency management, and connection reliability.

Airtel introduced the service earlier this week as part of efforts to offer more dependable telecom services during periods of network congestion. 

Ericsson and Nokia Back Airtel’s Move 

Ericsson and Nokia both supported Airtel’s rollout and confirmed their involvement in enabling the slicing infrastructure.

Börje Ekholm, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ericsson, said India continues to strengthen its standing among digitally advanced economies following rapid 5G deployment. 

He added that Ericsson partnered with Airtel on implementation of the 5G slicing capability. 

Justin Hotard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia, also said the company’s technology is supporting Airtel’s slicing-based services. 

“It builds on more than 20 years of partnership with Airtel across mobile, fixed and transport networks,” Hotard said. 

Read More: Bharti Airtel Share Price Gains Over 2%; Overtakes HDFC Bank to Become 2nd-Most Valued Company in India! 

Bharti Airtel Share Price Performance  

As of 22 May 2026, at 9:26 AM, Bharti Airtel Ltd share price is trading at ₹1,894.70 per share, reflecting a surge of 0.66% from the previous closing price.  

Conclusion 

Airtel’s Priority Postpaid expansion marks one of India’s early large-scale commercial deployments of 5G slicing technology as telecom operators increasingly focus on differentiated network experiences and premium connectivity services. 

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